CVC and Standard Life to Launch UK Pension Risk Transfer Platform

CVC Capital Partners and Standard Life have announced a strategic joint venture to create a new platform focused on Pension Risk Transfer (PRT) for large UK corporate pension schemes. The venture is supported by a consortium including Prudential Financial Inc. and other long-term institutional investors, with initial capital commitments totaling up to £2 billion.

Under the agreement, CVC will provide access to private market investment opportunities, encompassing asset-backed lending, structured credit, real estate credit, infrastructure credit, direct lending, and opportunistic credit. Standard Life will contribute its expertise in PRT origination, transaction structuring, regulatory infrastructure, and relationships within the UK pensions ecosystem.

The UK pension risk transfer market represents a significant opportunity, with approximately £1.2 trillion in defined benefit pension liabilities yet to be transferred to insurers. The new platform aims to provide solutions for large pension schemes and corporate sponsors seeking to de-risk their legacy pension obligations.

This partnership strengthens CVC's credit and insurance strategy. The private equity firm recently established a similar partnership with AIG and acquired CVC Marathon, bringing its Credit & Insurance strategy's assets under management to over €60 billion.